Look Cycle International is a French

sports equipment Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since th ...

company renowned for developing, designing, manufacturing, and marketing high-end

bicycles A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

bicycle pedal The pedal is the part of a bicycle that the rider pushes with their foot to propel the vehicle. It provides the connection between the cyclist's foot or Cycling shoe, shoe and the Crankset, crank allowing the leg to turn the bottom bracket spindl ...

s and other cycling components and apparel under the brand name LOOK in more than 80 countries. The company, headquartered in

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

, has been a pioneer in the

cycling industry Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

since its acquisition by

Bernard Tapie Bernard Roger Tapie (; 26 January 1943 – 3 October 2021) was a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Minister of City Affairs in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy. He was the manager of a group ...

in 1983. Notably, the company introduced the first clipless pedal in 1984 and the first carbon fiber

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

in 1986. Look Cycle's bicycles and pedals have contributed to victories in all three Grand Tours (

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, La Vuelta, and

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

), as well as in most

classic cycle races The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

and in Road and Track

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. Additionally, athletes using Look products have won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

and the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

and set multiple world records, of which 3 are still standing.

History

Inception of the company

In 1950, Jean Beyl invented the

Look Nevada Look's Nevada, released in 1950, was the first recognizably modern alpine ski binding. The Nevada was only the toe portion of the binding, and was used with a conventional cable binding for the heel. An updated version was introduced in 1962 wit ...

dual-pivot ski binding system, which laid the foundation for the company’s future innovations. In 1951, the Look company was officially founded and named after the American magazine Look. The 1962 Look Nevada II single-pivot ski binding design would significantly influence the company's bindings for the next 40 years.

Bernard Tapie's Era (1983-1989)

In 1983, after Jean Beyl's early designs of a clipless bicycle pedal, the company was acquired by French businessman

. In 1984, LOOK introduced the first-ever clipless pedals, the PP65. Simultaneously, Tapie established the professional cycling team La Vie Claire to promote this new product. In 1985, the La Vie Claire team, led by

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...

, won the

1985 Tour de France The 1985 Tour de France was the 72nd edition of the Tour de France, one of Cycle sport, cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between 28 June and 21 July. The course ran over and consisted of a individual time trial, pro ...

using LOOK's PP65 pedals, marking a turning point in cycling technology. The success of the pedals helped establish clipless systems as a staple in professional cycling. LOOK's pedal designs would go on to inspire rival manufacturers for years. In 1986, LOOK unveiled the KG86, the first-ever carbon frame, handcrafted with a combination of

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

and

kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

. The frame was first tested in competition at the 1986 Tour de France by

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...

and

. With this innovation, LeMond won his first Tour, using both the KG96 frame and PP65 pedals In 1987, LOOK partnered with the FFC to develop high-performance winning track bikes, a collaboration that continues today.

The 1990s

In 1990, LOOK unveiled the KG196, its first monobloc carbon frame, further solidifying the company's position in innovative bicycle manufacturing. In 1994, LOOK's ski binding division was sold to Rossignol, allowing the company to focus entirely on cycling products. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, LOOK achieved its first Olympic success, helping French cyclists win six medals, including four gold.

Company buy-out

In 1998, a management buyout was led by Dominique Bergin, Thierry Fournier, and Jean-Claude Chrétien. The company was renamed "LOOK Cycle International," reflecting its focus on cycling. In 2001, LOOK expanded its production capabilities by opening a subsidiary in Tunisia, known as Look Design System, to manufacture carbon frames. In 2016, Activa Capital became the majority shareholder of the company, along with the management team. Later that year, LOOK acquired Corima, a French manufacturer of high-end carbon wheels for road, triathlon, and track cycling.

Recent product development

In 2004, LOOK launched the KEO pedals. In 2019, LOOK introduced its first

E-bike An electric bicycle, e-bike, electrically assisted pedal cycle, or electrically power assisted cycle is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fa ...

in collaboration with Fazua. In 2023, LOOK returned to the

by partnering with the Cofidis cycling team to promote the 795 Blade RS bike. With this bike, the team achieved two stage wins, marking the end of a 15-year winless streak at the Tour. In 2024, LOOK launched the P24 track bike, developed in collaboration with the FFC and athletes, to support the French team at the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

and

. The bike contributed to winning 7 medals, including 3 gold (Men's Omnium, Women's C5 3000m individual pursuit, and Men's C2 3000m individual pursuit).

Sponsorships

LOOK has been bike sponsor for top-tier professional cycling teams throughout its history, including La Vie Claire, , , , , Nippo–Delko–One Provence. As of 2024, LOOK is sponsoring

Cofidis Cofidis (from the French: mpagnie nancière de tribution) is a French multinational consumer credit company owned by Crédit Mutuel. It was founded in 1982 by 3 Suisses, a company jointly owned by the Otto and Mulliez families, to provid ...

. LOOK has also been pedal sponsor of multiple teams and athletes, including , , , , ,

, Tadej Pogacar, Nairo Quintana, Biniam Girmay and many more.

Bibliography

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References

External links

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Look Bindings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Look (company) Ski equipment manufacturers Cycle manufacturers of France Cycle parts manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1951 French companies established in 1951 French brands Companies based in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté